Services

A top 5 provider of 1:1 support for people living with a disability in Victoria.

Independence Australia provides specialist supports to more than 1,200 Victorians living with a disability or other personal need.

During the past 12 months, our services continued to grow, with 59 new service users choosing Independence Australia as their new service provider as they transitioned to the NDIS in North-Eastern Melbourne. A new support coordination service was also launched, attracting 40 new consumers through service reputation.

We partnered with the University of Melbourne to expand our student placement program, hosting Social Work Masters students to provide case management services to a number of unfunded clients, assisting them to achieve their support needs.

Two new recreation camps were launched, including a ski camp for young people with spinal cord injuries and a camp for clients under the age of 30 with spina bifida. The ski camp, held at Falls Creek, aimed to improve the fitness of participants and expose them to a new sport. The second camp, located in a picturesque bush environment, provided an opportunity for campers to form new networks with others experiencing similar challenges.

The Transport Accident Commission (TAC) sponsored the SpinChat program, which presented sessions to more than 8,000 secondary school students across Victoria. The sessions, targeted at young people in the hope of preventing spinal cord injuries, feature inspiring presentations by people with spinal cord injuries. SpinChat has now reached over 50,000 students in over 300 schools since its inception in 2010. With the TAC’s ongoing support, Independence Australia aims to deliver the SpinChat program to another 12,000 Victorian students each year.